True Places

THE STYLE — reminds me of 19th century novels such as those by Jane Austin and the Bronte sisters. They feature women as central characters, striving to find their identity and meaning in life. Suzanne in TRUE PLACES certainly fits that category.

ALMOST GAVE UP READING — heres the problem for me and why about a third into the book I was ready to give up on this novel. I got tired of too much non-essential and static descriptions about characters, things like furniture and cooking, scenery, even the simple act of driving from one place to another. Sure, some of these descriptions were brilliant and even mood-setting, but they really slowed the story down.

ARTIFICIAL SUSPENSE — I also was annoyed with the authors attempts to build curiosity and suspense by withholding reportage information the five ws of a good story: who, what, when, where, and why. I didnt learn the girls name until page 37. The author writes from the omniscient point-of-view (POV), so she shouldve known the girls name from the start. This POV gets confusing as the author often seems to interject her own philosophies into the characters experiences.

ACCEPTANCE –As much as the premise of the story is hard to accept, I went along with it a girl isolated in the woods, escaping all notice from the public even after her father and mother are gone by the time the girl is 12 years old. How could she fend for herself for four years? She had Ash, but again all identifying information about him was withheld until near the end of the book.

MY REWARD — I stuck with this book all the way through. And somewhere about two-thirds into the book, the plot and characters grabbed me. Now it centered mostly on only two central characters, the girl and Suzanne, and their search for the girls cabin. From there on I was engrossed in the story. This part of this novel was exceptionally good.

SOME GOOD TAKEAWAYS, such as: Sometimes leaving was the best solution, even if the main result was realizing you could come back. Sometimes it takes a stranger to show you what should be obvious, how far youve drifted from who you want to be, from whats right for you, your true place.

I see most readers enjoyed this book. It has some very good insights and resolutions of family conflict with which many readers will identify.

Sometimes it takes a stranger to show you what should be obvious, how far youve drifted from who you want to be, from whats right for you, your true place. Suzanne is living a life filled with the busyness of being a mom, a wife, a volunteer….all the things that keep her scrambling to keep up with everything that seems vital to her family…but there are cracks everywhere, and Suzanne doesnt recognize herself in the person shes become. When she finds a young girl on the side of the road, a girl who is sick and alone, a girl who has lived in the woods, Suzanne feels as if shes found a purpose…but will helping Iris shatter the family she is desperately trying to hold together? The relationships in this book are fraught with conflict and this book is a gripping peek into the challenges, expectations and disappointments. As a reader, I felt like a voyeur, peeking into this honest, many times uncomfortable, portrayal of a family. There is such incredibly beautiful language in each sentence, a delight to read and often a wonder. Woven within the story of this modern family are the most beautiful images of nature and the sights and sounds of the woods, the animals, and especially the plants and flowers. Just as I felt placed in the center of the house, I was equally present in the wilderness. I felt every emotion, every angrily spoken word, every gesture of love and kindness, every feeling of desperation and conflict and hope. Gripping, thought-provoking, and powerful, this book asks as many questions as it answers.

This book was wonderful!

Fog hung in the trees, a hush of silvery damp, but the girl could tell the sun would burn through before long and dry the grasses hunched under the weight of dew

The cabin stood in a small clearing, and the trees surrounding it had strained toward the heavens for a long time, long enough for the trunks to have become too thick for the girl to enclose them in the circle of her arms, long enough for anyone with decency to fall silent in reverence.

The fog had disappeared as surreptitiously as it has come. The sun was high and all the green in the world was rising toward it. She listened as she climbed, her skin and each of her senses bound together into solid awareness. Everything surrounds her, impinging on her, she felt and knew

One day Suzanne had enough; she had to get away from the family and her responsibilities for just a little while so she decided to just drive a little bit. She found a little girl next to the woods and took her to the hospital. This is where the story of Iris truly begins. What happened to her parents? Why did she live in the woods?

“People. People want to know things about you. People want you to follow rules. People put chemicals in the water, and ruin good food and hurt animals and waste things that are precious. People won’t let you live a simple, good life.” She faced him. ” I don’t need people, and I don’t want them.”

But life is going to take a different turn for Iris because Suzanne can’t leave her alone in a world she knows nothing about.

Suzanne twisted to look across the treetops and roofs to the rolling hills and the mountains beyond. She imagined Iris wandering along the ridges, drinking from the streams, searching for food, sleeping on the forest floor, untethered and unaccountable to anyone but herself. Now Suzanne imagined not Iris but herself, alone in the woods. The thought made her heart beat faster, and for an instant she wasn’t certain whether it was from fear or excitement.

I loved how this book had POV’s for Suzanne, her husband, two kids and Iris. We get to find out little things about each of them.

I loved Suzanne’s son, Reid. He was a big cool dude! I hated the daughter, Brynn until the end. And I didn’t like the husband, Whit, on and off until the end as well. And I’m so glad this book had a happy ending for everyone. The book had my feel good ending!

She finished clearing the plants away and squatted on her heels with one hand on the top of the marker, listening. The wind sighed through the tops of the trees, shifting the pattern of light falling to the forest floor. A pair of dusky-blue butterflies, no bigger than her thumbnail, danced in a shifting column of light, then alighted, first one, then the other, on the damp ground, violet blue against brown, before twirling upward once more. Beyond the clearing, in the undergrowth, a bird kicked through the leaf litter. A towhee.

Happy Reading!

Mel

Ive been following Sonja Yoerg since her debut, and have loved seeing her evolve as an artist. I was gripped from her very first sentence and loved every moment of Suzanne and Iriss journeys. This stunning, beautiful work is not to be missed.

I got this as a Kindle first freebie. I’m enjoying the story but have encountered a third blank page and I’m only 12% into the book. these blanks are definitely missing bits of text. Which is a shame.
Update. On using my phone app to read this book, I realise the gaps may be due to downloading errors on my kindle rather than to the original file being faulty. Apologies for the misrepresentation (this has never happened to me before). As far as the book is concerned, although I haven’t finished it (and have to go back over the missing pages) I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys a well-written story.

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